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tripadvisoron trial
www.theolivepress.es
the olive press - August 23 - September 05, 2012
SEVILLA HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
‘Appalling choice, very mediocre’ A
S the shining capital of Andalucia, Sevilla attracts tourists from around Spain and across the globe. With so many different visitors passing through the city each day, hotels and restaurants must attempt to meet the needs of a vastly mixed clientele. Yet this diversity seems to be under-represented, and indeed neglected, on TripAdvisor. As Gary Biston, owner of restaurant La Vista de Medina, notes: “TripAdvisor users are predominantly English speakers from the United States, Canada and Britain.” The result is a highly skewed perspective of what qualifies as the ‘best’ places to eat and sleep, which fails to consider the many other demographics that do not contrib-
ute to the site’s ratings. “Spanish speakers largely make recommendations by word-of-mouth, and many visitors probably do not even know that the site exists,” he added.
UNFAIR RANKINGS: Zelai restaurant and Hotel Corral del Rey
ly all their lists. In fact, one expert, renowned Spanish hotelier Don Gonzalo del Rio Gonzalez-Gordon, described With this in mind, we conthe choice as ‘appalling’, citsulted six experts and eleven ing its ‘bad decoration and travel guides to evaluate Trigeneral mediocrity’. Likewise, the number four hotel, Hotel Holos, did 5 Top Restaurants 5 Top Restaurants not appear on any in Sevilla in Sevilla other list and most experts had not 1. Restaurante Zelai 1. La Pincelada even heard of it. 2. La Azotea 2. Bar La Corona And the number 3. Vineria San Telmo 3. Vineria San Telmo five pick, El Rey 4. Eslava 4. Eslava Moro Hotel Bou5. Egana Oriza/Abantal 5. La Mojigata tique, made it into just one other top 5 Top Hotels in Sevilla 5 Top Hotels in Sevilla five. 1. Corral del Rey 1. Hotel Casa 1800 But not all of Tri2. Hotel Alfonso XIII 2. AlmaSevilla - Hotel Palacio de Villapanes pAdvisor’s selec3. Las Casas del Rey de Baeza 3. Corral del Rey tions were that far 4. AlmaSevilla - Hotel Palacio de Villapanes 4. Hotel Holos off. 5. EME Catedral 5. El Rey Moro Hotel Boutique The number two hotel, AlmaSevilla –
By Rund Abdelfatah
According to TripAdvisor:
pAdvisor’s listings for the top five hotels and restaurants in Sevilla. Suprisingly, TripAdvisor’s number one hotel, Casa 1800, was absent from near-
According to the Olive Press:
VEJER HOTELS & RESTAURANTS
S
ITTING neatly between the sierras and the sea, a labyrinth of cobbled streets and narrow winding roads make up the hilltop town of Vejer de la Frontera. The Cadiz town also boasts a variety of highly praised hotels and restaurants – one of the most stylish and original collections in Andalucia - many of which feature on TripAdvisor. But there are sadly many discrepancies, such as popular stalwart El Jardin del Califa not making TripAdvisor’s Top Five, despite our professionals raving about it. It also has more reviews
Doing it right By Mason Jones
OUR NUMBER ONE: El Jardin del Califa
than any other restaurant in the town and 82% of visitors recommending it as a great place to dine.
Thankfully owner James Stuart does not take the site as gospel, but merely as a way to address any issues customers may have. “I don’t measure my success by looking at criticism posted on TripAdvisor, I look around the restaurant which is full every night. “Indeed, at the moment we are fully booked almost two weeks in advance. We must
be doing something right!” But the website has certainly got something right... its number one restaurant Patria, most certainly deserves to be there. “It deserves to be number one, not only in Vejer but for the whole area,” insists fellow hotelier Gary Biston. It has grown increasingly popular in the six years it has been open – something owner Ase partly puts down to TripAdvisor: “We’re in the middle of nowhere so TripAdvisor
According to TripAdvisor:
According to the Olive Press:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
5 Top Restaurants in Vejer
Restaurante Patria La Vera Cruz La Terraza de Sindhura La Nueva Tajea Quatro Gatos
5 Top Hotels in Vejer 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Hotel Sindhura Hotel La Casa del Califa Hotel Hotel El Palomar de la Brena Hotel Convento de San Francisco Casa Rural Leonor
5 Top Restaurants in Vejer
Restaurante Patria Castilleria El Jardin del Califa La Terraza de Sindhura Vera Cruz/Garimba
5 Top Hotels in Vejer 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Hotel La Casa del Califa Hotel Hotel Sindhura Hotel El Palomar de la Brena Casa la Siesta Hotel V
TOPS: Patria restaurant really helps tell people we work hard,” she said. But, as for our second choice La Castilleria – raved about by all our critics - it inexplicably comes in number 10 on TripAdvisor. As one specialist, who asked to be anonymous, explains: “This is a true secret. An amazing place that has got better and better each year.” And as Biston adds: “It’s problem is that it is full of traditional old Spanish money and discerning diners. They don’t use computers, they have staff that use computers for them. “They recommend it by word-of-mouth to the people who went to public school together.”
Hotel Palacio de Villapanes, showed up in six other guides including Lonely Planet and topped travel writer Fiona Flores Watson’s list, with iescape inspector Guy HunterWatts putting it second. Additionally, number three Corral del Rey was unanimously agreed upon by our experts as a ‘perfect chic, if pricy city retreat’ and ranked number one for Sevilla Tourist Guide and two others. But while some of TripAdvisor’s Top Five Sevilla hotels held up when put to the test, its restaurant picks fared pretty poorly. The number one spot, La Pincelada, number four Bar La Corona, and number five La Mojigata, all failed to make it onto any of the travel guide or expert lists. Top ranking La Pincelada only has 18 reviews and starting from just two months ago! The only restaurant almost universally voted into the top five among the experts was Vineria san Telmo, which our own Dining Secrets of Andalucia editor Jon Clarke, first located four years ago. More contested was the number two pick, Eslava, with some experts strongly advocating in its favour while others like Don Gonzalo contended that ‘while good, it is not worthy of second place’. This controversy – which encourages us to challenge the thinking of even expert minds – is noticeably lacking on TripAdvisor Just one bad review can severely outweigh many positive ones, thereby lowering the establishment’s ranking. For example, Don Gonzalo’s hotel Casa No 7 in Sevilla, currently placed at number 112 on TripAdvisor ranks sixth on i-escape, a UK-based travel guide that features reviews by a team of independent travellers. With such discrepancies, tourists should exercise caution when they consult TripAdvisor, keeping in mind that all may not be as it seems.